Mobile electronic device and associated method enabling transliteration of a text input

ABSTRACT

An improved mobile electronic device enables the inputting of text in one alphabet, Traditional Chinese in the present example, by transliteration of inputs in another alphabet, BoPoMoFo in the present example. Since some of the inputs can be ambiguous, transliteration of an ambiguous input is delayed until a detection of a finalization event, thus avoiding the outputting of unnecessary transliteration results, and thus advantageously avoiding a distraction to the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional applicationSer. No. 61/052,222, filed May 11, 2008, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to mobile electronicdevices and, more particularly, to a mobile electronic device and methodthat enable transliteration of a text input.

2. Background Information

Numerous types of mobile electronic devices are known. Examples of suchmobile electronic devices include, for instance, personal dataassistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellulartelephones, and the like. Many mobile electronic devices also featurewireless communication capability, although many such mobile electronicdevices are stand-alone devices that are functional withoutcommunication with other devices.

In certain circumstances, text in a certain alphabet or language can bephonetically input using a different alphabet, i.e., a different set ofcharacters. By way of example, BoPoMoFo is a means by which TraditionalChinese characters can by input via the inputting of phonetic BoPoMoFocharacters. The BoPoMoFo “alphabet” comprises approximately thirty-eightBoPoMoFo characters and five tones, all of which comprise phoneticcontent which, when input as text, can be transliterated intoTraditional Chinese text.

Pinyin Chinese is another type of phonetic text input transliterationsystem which enables Simplified Chinese, i.e., Standard Mandarin,characters to by input via the inputting of Latin characters. A “pin” isa phonetic sound, oftentimes formed from a plurality of Latincharacters, and each pin is associated with one or more StandardMandarin characters. More than four hundred pins exist, and each pintypically corresponds with a plurality of different Standard Mandarincharacters.

While such transliteration algorithms have been generally effective fortheir intended purpose, such transliteration algorithms have not beenwithout limitation. It thus would be desired to provide an improvedmethod and mobile electronic device that facilitate the inputting oftext.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full understanding of the disclosed and claimed concept can be gainedfrom the following Description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an improved mobile electronic device inaccordance with the disclosed and claimed concept;

FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of the improved mobile electronic deviceof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary output that can be provided on a display of themobile electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is another exemplary output;

FIG. 5 is another exemplary output;

FIG. 6 is another exemplary output;

FIG. 7 is another exemplary output;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary flowchart depicting at least a portion of animproved method in accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept andwhich can be executed on the mobile electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary home screen that can be visually output on themobile electronic device;

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary menu that can be output on the mobileelectronic device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 depicts another exemplary menu;

FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary reduced menu;

FIG. 13 is an output such as could occur during another exemplary textentry or text editing operation;

FIG. 14 is an output during another exemplary text entry operation;

FIG. 15 is an alternative output during the exemplary text entryoperation of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is another output during another part of the exemplary textentry operation of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is an exemplary output during a data entry operation;

FIG. 18 is a top plan view of an improved mobile electronic device inaccordance with another embodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept;and

FIG. 19 is a schematic depiction of the improved mobile electronicdevice of FIG. 18.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification.

DESCRIPTION

An improved mobile electronic device 4 is indicated generally in FIG. 1and is depicted schematically in FIG. 2. The exemplary mobile electronicdevice 4 includes a housing 6 upon which are disposed an input apparatus8, an output apparatus 12, and a processor apparatus 16. The inputapparatus 8 is structured to provide input to the processor apparatus16, and the output apparatus 12 is structured to receive output signalsfrom the processor apparatus 16. The output apparatus 12 comprises adisplay 18 that is structured to provide visual output, although otheroutput devices such as speakers, LEDs, tactile output devices, and soforth can be additionally or alternatively used. In an exampleembodiment, the display 18 is a touchscreen display.

Referring to FIG. 2, the processor apparatus 16 comprises a processor 36and a memory 40. The processor 36 may be, for instance and withoutlimitation, a microprocessor (μP) that is responsive to inputs from theinput apparatus 8 and that provides output signals to the outputapparatus 12. The processor 36 interfaces with the memory 40.

The memory 40 can be said to constitute a machine-readable medium andcan be any one or more of a variety of types of internal and/or externalstorage media such as, without limitation, RAM, ROM, EPROM(s),EEPROM(s), FLASH, and the like that provide a storage register for datastorage such as in the fashion of an internal storage area of acomputer, and can be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory. The memory40 has stored therein a number of routines 44 which are executable onthe processor 36. As employed herein, the expression “a number of” andvariations thereof shall refer broadly to any non-zero quantity,including a quantity of one. The routines 44 can be in any of a varietyof forms such as, without limitation, software, firmware, and the like.As will be explained in greater detail below, the routines 44 include atext transliteration algorithm in the form of a transliteration routine44, as well as other routines. The exemplary transliteration routine 44is employable to enable BoPoMoFo text input to be transliterated intoTraditional Chinese word output.

The memory 40 also has stored therein a character table 42 whichcomprises a large quantity of Traditional Chinese characters and thecorresponding BoPoMoFo strings which can be transliterated into theTraditional Chinese characters. It is noted that the Chinese language isused as an exemplary language herein, and it is further understood thatother languages such as Japanese and Korean, for example, couldsimilarly be phonetically input on the mobile electronic device 4without departing from the present concept. That is, the mobileelectronic device 4 is described herein in an exemplary fashion as beingconfigured for the phonetic inputting of the Chinese language viatransliteration between BoPoMoFo characters and Traditional Chinesecharacters, and it is understood that in other embodiments the mobileelectronic device 4 could be configured to input, for instance, Japaneseor Korean text or text in another language without departing from thepresent concept.

As can be understood from FIG. 1, the input apparatus 8 includes akeyboard 24 and a multiple-axis input device which, in the exemplaryembodiment depicted herein, is a trackball 32 that will be described ingreater detail below. The keyboard 24 comprises a plurality of keys 28,with many of the keys 28 each having at least one BoPoMoFo character 26or a tone 30 assigned thereto, and with at least some of the keys 28each having a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters 26 assigned thereto. Thekeys 28 and the trackball 32 all serve as input elements that areactuatable to provide input to the processor apparatus 16. The keyboard24 and the trackball 32 are advantageously disposed adjacent one anotheron a front face of the housing 6. This facilitates the operation of thetrackball 32 without requiring the user's hands to move away from thekeyboard 24 during a text entry operation or other operation.

One of the keys 28 is an <ESCAPE> key 31 which, when actuated, providesto the processor apparatus 16 an input that undoes the action whichresulted from the immediately preceding input and/or moves the user to alogically higher position within a logical menu tree managed by agraphical user interface (GUI) routine 44. The function provided by the<ESCAPE> key 31 can be used at generally any logical location within anyportion of the logical menu tree. The <ESCAPE> key 31 is advantageouslydisposed adjacent the trackball 32 thereby enabling, for example, anunintended or incorrect input from the trackball 32 to be quicklyundone, i.e., reversed, by an actuation of the adjacent <ESCAPE> key 31.

Another of the keys 28 is a <MENU> key 33 which, when actuated, providesto the processor apparatus 16 an input that causes the GUI 44 togenerate and output on the display 18 a menu such as is depicted in FIG.10. Such a menu is appropriate to the user's current logical locationwithin the logical menu tree, as will be described in greater detailbelow. It is noted that menus and other subject matter that is notdirectly related to the transliteration algorithm 44 is depicted in anexemplary fashion herein in the English language, although this is notintended to be limiting.

While in the depicted exemplary embodiment the multiple-axis inputdevice is the trackball 32, it is noted that multiple-axis input devicesother than the trackball 32 can be employed without departing from thepresent concept. For instance, other appropriate multiple-axis inputdevices could include mechanical devices such as joysticks and the likeand/or non-mechanical devices such as touch pads, track pads and thelike and/or other devices which detect motion or input in otherfashions, such as through the use of optical sensors or piezoelectriccrystals.

The trackball 32 is freely rotatable in all directions with respect tothe housing 6. A rotation of the trackball 32 a predetermined rotationaldistance with respect to the housing 6 provides an input to theprocessor apparatus 16, and such inputs can be employed by the routines44, for example, as navigational inputs, scrolling inputs, selectioninputs, and other inputs.

For instance, and as can be seen in FIG. 1, the trackball 32 isrotatable about a horizontal axis 34A to provide vertical scrolling,navigational, selection, or other inputs. Similarly, the trackball 32 isrotatable about a vertical axis 34B to provide horizontal scrolling,navigational, selection, or other inputs. Since the trackball 32 isfreely rotatable with respect to the housing 6, the trackball 32 isadditionally rotatable about any other axis (not expressly depictedherein) that lies within the plane of the page of FIG. 1 or that extendsout of the plane of the page of FIG. 1.

The trackball 32 can be said to be a multiple-axis input device becauseit provides scrolling, navigational, selection, and other inputs in aplurality of directions or with respect to a plurality of axes, such asproviding inputs in both the vertical and the horizontal directions. Itis reiterated that the trackball 32 is merely one of many multiple-axisinput devices that could be employed on the mobile electronic device 4.As such, mechanical alternatives to the trackball 32, such as ajoystick, might have a limited rotation with respect to the housing 6,and non-mechanical alternatives might be immovable with respect to thehousing 6, yet all are capable of providing input in a plurality ofdirections and/or along a plurality of axes.

The trackball 32 additionally is translatable toward the housing 6,i.e., into the plane of the page of FIG. 1, to provide additionalinputs. The trackball 32 could be translated in such a fashion by, forexample, a user applying an actuating force to the trackball 32 in adirection toward the housing 6, such as by pressing on the trackball 32.The inputs that are provided to the processor apparatus 16 as a resultof a translation of the trackball 32 in the indicated fashion can beemployed by the routines 44, for example, as selection inputs, delimiterinputs, or other inputs.

The GUI 44 advantageously provides as an output a text input component46 and a lookup component 48. The text input component 46 typicallyincludes a string of language objects, i.e., BoPoMoFo characters 56 inthe exemplary embodiment herein, that correspond with the input from thekeyboard 24, or it can include a character interpretation of at least aportion of the input string, such as in the exemplary form of a numberof Traditional Chinese characters 52 that have resulted fromtransliteration of some of the BoPoMoFo characters, or it can includeboth. That is, in certain circumstances portions of the series ofBoPoMoFo characters 56, i.e., inputs, that have been output on thedisplay 18 are replaced at the text input component 46 with Chinesewords comprising one or more Traditional Chinese characters 52.

The lookup component 48 is in the nature of a lookup window that isoutput on the display 18 at a location that typically is different thanthat of the text input component 46. The text lookup component 48includes and displays a number of transliterated characters which, inthe present example, are Traditional Chinese characters 60. As a generalmatter, the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in the lookup component 48will each be a transliteration of at least a portion of the BoPoMoFocharacters 56 in the text input component 46. The specific nature of theTraditional Chinese characters 60 in the lookup component 48 varies withthe BoPoMoFo content of the text input component 46.

For example, FIG. 1 depicts two BoPoMoFo characters 56 in the text inputcomponent 46, and these follow two Traditional Chinese characters 52 inthe text input component 46. The two Traditional Chinese characters 52have been transliterated from and have replaced earlier BoPoMoFo inputsin the series of BoPoMoFo inputs that is being depicted in FIG. 1. Thetwo unconverted BoPoMoFo characters 56 in FIG. 1 can be validlytransliterated into any of a plurality of Traditional Chinesecharacters, i.e., the Traditional Chinese characters 60 that are outputin the lookup component 48.

As is generally understood, a Traditional Chinese character can betransliterated from at most a string of three BoPoMoFo characters, i.e.,a string of BoPoMoFo characters up to three BoPoMoFo characters inlength, plus an optional tone, although the same string of BoPoMoFocharacters can also be transliterated into a number of other singleTraditional Chinese characters.

As mentioned above, the string of two BoPoMoFo characters 56 in FIG. 1can be transliterated into any one of the Traditional Chinese characters60 in the lookup component 48 of the same figure. The situation in FIG.1 is that the user has entered a series of BoPoMoFo characters, andwhereas some of the BoPoMoFo characters at the beginning of the serieshave already been transliterated into and replaced with the twoTraditional Chinese characters 52 in the text input component 46, thetwo most recently input BoPoMoFo characters 56 have not yet beenreplaced in the text input component 46 with a transliteration thereof.It is noted, however, that the aforementioned two BoPoMoFo characters 56have, in fact, been transliterated, and the various alternativetransliterations are the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in the lookupcomponent 48. In the example of FIG. 1, the two BoPoMoFo characters 56can be validly transliterated into any one of the Traditional Chinesecharacters 60 in the lookup component 48, meaning that each of theTraditional Chinese characters 60 in the lookup component 48 correspondsin the character table 42 with the two BoPoMoFo characters 56. In othersituations, it may be the case that the two BoPoMoFo characters in thetext input component 46 do not directly correspond with any TraditionalChinese characters, but would validly constitute the first two BoPoMoFocharacters of a Traditional Chinese character that comprises threeBoPoMoFo characters. In such a situation, the identified TraditionalChinese characters would be output in the lookup component 48 aspredictions of the Traditional Chinese characters that the user may beintending to type with the addition of one more BoPoMoFo input. In thissituation, the user could select one of the Traditional Chinesecharacter predictions in the lookup component 48, with the result thatthe selected Traditional Chinese character 60 would be output in thetext input component 46 in place of the BoPoMoFo characters 56 that arecurrently being output there. In other situations, however, the user maysimply continue to input BoPoMoFo characters with the result that theBoPoMoFo input will ultimately be transliterated and replaced in thetext input component 46 with Traditional Chinese characters from thecharacter table 42.

As such, while the lookup component 48 is provided in certaincircumstances to enable a user to select a particular TraditionalChinese character that may be desired, whether a direct transliterationor a predictive transliteration, the user need not affirmatively selectsuch Traditional Chinese characters in order to provide Chinese input onthe mobile electronic device 4. Rather, the user can input TraditionalChinese characters onto the mobile electronic device 4 merely byinputting BoPoMoFo characters, such as with the use of the keyboard 24,which will automatically be transliterated into Traditional Chinesecharacters.

While the transliteration routine 44 provides transliterations ofBoPoMoFo inputs and replaces BoPoMoFo inputs in the text input component46 with transliterated Traditional Chinese characters, it is noted thatthese two operations are not necessarily performed contemporaneously.That is, in certain circumstances BoPoMoFo input is transliterated intoTraditional Chinese characters that are output as the TraditionalChinese characters 60 in the lookup component 48. Such a transliterationdoes not, however, necessarily automatically result in the BoPoMoFocharacters 56 in the text input component 46 actually being replacedwith a Traditional Chinese character as a conversion thereof intoTraditional Chinese characters.

More particularly, it is reiterated that some of the key 28 have aplurality of BoPoMoFo characters 26 assigned thereto. The user canmultitap between the two BoPoMoFo characters 26 on such keys, with aninitial actuation resulting in an input of the uppermost or leftmostBoPoMoFo character 26 on the key 28, and with a reactuation of the samekey within a predetermined period of time resulting in a the alternateBoPoMoFo character 26 on the key 28 (sometimes referred to herein as aFLIP operation). The predetermined period of time can be, for example,one-half a second, although other predetermined periods of time can beappropriately employed. Additional actuations of such a key 28 withinthe predetermined period of time of the immediately preceding actuationenable the user to toggle between the two BoPoMoFo characters 26assigned to the key 28.

It can be seen, therefore, that a single actuation of one of the keys 28having a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters 26 assigned thereto can besaid to be uncertain or ambiguous within the predetermined period oftime since the user could reactuate the key 28 to input an alternateBoPoMoFo character 26 assigned to the same key 28. As a general matter,therefore, an input of a BoPoMoFo character 26 from one of the keys 28having a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters 26 assigned thereto willgenerally not be processed by the transliteration routine 44, or will atleast not result in an updating of the Traditional Chinese characters 60in the lookup component 48 to reflect the additional BoPoMoFo input,until the additional BoPoMoFo input is finalized in some fashion.

Two exemplary finalization events that result in the finalization of aBoPoMoFo input are described herein, but it is understood that otherfinalization events that are not expressly depicted herein can beemployed without departing from the present concept. One exemplaryfinalization event is an expiration of the predetermined period of timefrom the most recent BoPoMoFo input without a detection of anotherBoPoMoFo input. For example, a given BoPoMoFo input can be considered tobe a current BoPoMoFo input which, if unchanged by a reactuation of thesame key 28 within the predetermined period of time, will becomefinalized upon an expiration of the predetermined period of time fromits input. Another exemplary finalization event would be a detectedinput of a BoPoMoFo character 26 from an actuation of a different key.For example, an actuation of one key 28 having a plurality of BoPoMoFocharacters 26 assigned thereto will result in one of the BoPoMoFocharacters 26 assigned to that one key 28 being a current input, and adetection of a BoPoMoFo input due to an actuation of a different key 28will finalize the aforementioned current input. For the sake ofcompleteness, it is noted that such an inputting of a BoPoMoFo character26 from a different key 28 would, in order to be a finalization event,need to be detected within the predetermined period of time of theimmediately preceding BoPoMoFo input, otherwise the immediatelypreceding BoPoMoFo input would have been already finalized by thedetection of the expiration of the predetermined period of time as afinalization event of the current BoPoMoFo input.

Upon a detection of a finalization event, such as the two aforementionedexemplary finalization events, the current BoPoMoFo input and anypreceding BoPoMoFo inputs that have not yet been converted into aTraditional Chinese character, such as a Traditional Chinese character52 in the text input component 46, will be input into thetransliteration routine 44 and will be transliterated. That is, in thepresent exemplary embodiment the string of BoPoMoFo inputs 56 will bethe subject of a search of the character table 42 and will, if valid,result in the returning from the dictionary 42 of a number of matchingTraditional Chinese characters 60 that are output in the lookupcomponent 48. Such Traditional Chinese characters 60 are each atransliteration of the string of BoPoMoFo characters that was submittedto the transliteration routine 44. Advantageously, therefore, therefraining from changing the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in thelookup component 48 until a BoPoMoFo input has been finalized avoidsdistracting the user with an outputting of Traditional Chinesecharacters that are based upon ambiguous, i.e., unfinalized BoPoMoFoinputs and may not be anything like what the user intended. Theavoidance of such a distraction facilitates input by enabling a user toconcentrate on the inputting effort without being distracted by outputsthat are not useful.

As mentioned above, the outputting of proposed transliterations in thelookup component 48 of input that is depicted in the text inputcomponent 46 does not necessarily result in a conversion of the BoPoMoFoinput, in the present example, into a specific Traditional Chinesecharacter, such as one that might be among a plurality of proposedtransliterations of the BoPoMoFo input in the lookup component 48. Sucha conversion of a number of BoPoMoFo characters 56 in the text inputcomponent 46 into a Traditional Chinese character 60 from the lookupcomponent 48 would result in the Traditional Chinese character beingoutput in the text input component 46 in place of the BoPoMoFocharacters 56 and as a conversion thereof into a Traditional Chinesecharacter.

Any of a number of events can be detected as conversion events whichwill trigger a conversion of at least a portion of the BoPoMoFo contentof the text input component 46 into a Traditional Chinese character. Forexample, if a finalized BoPoMoFo input would be invalid in combinationwith one or two preceding unconverted BoPoMoFo inputs that alone arevalid, and no additional BoPoMoFo input could make the combinationvalid, the preceding BoPoMoFo inputs will be converted into aTraditional Chinese character by the transliteration routine 44. Thatis, one of the Traditional Chinese characters 60 that had beenidentified as a valid transliteration of the preceding BoPoMoFocharacters 56 will be output in the text input component 46 in place ofthe preceding BoPoMoFo characters 56. If the preceding BoPoMoFocharacters 56 can be transliterated into a plurality of TraditionalChinese characters, the particular one of the plurality of TraditionalChinese characters that will be output in the text input component 46 asthe conversion can be selected by the transliteration routine 44according to any of a variety of criteria. In the exemplary systemdescribed herein, the Traditional Chinese character having a relativelyhighest frequency of usage will be output in the text input component 46in place of the preceding BoPoMoFo characters 56 as a transliterationand a conversion thereof. Other selection criteria may be employed,however, without departing from the present concept.

Another such conversion event can be detected when three most recentBoPoMoFo characters can be transliterated into one or more TraditionalChinese characters, and the user has input an additional BoPoMoFocharacter, i.e., a fourth BoPoMoFo character. In such a situation, thethree BoPoMoFo characters 56 in the text input component 46 will bereplaced with a Traditional Chinese character as a transliterationthereof. Prior to the inputting of the fourth BoPoMoFo character, theproposed transliterations of the three BoPoMoFo characters may be outputin the lookup component 48, but conversion of the three BoPoMoFocharacters 56 to one of the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in thelookup component 48 is delayed in order to enable the user toaffirmatively select one of the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in thelookup component 48, if desired. The inputting of the fourth BoPoMoFocharacter without such an affirmative selection of a Traditional Chinesecharacter 60 in the lookup component 48 will be detected by thetransliteration routine 44 as an implicit selection of, in the presentexample, the most frequently used Traditional Chinese character 60,although other selection criteria can be employed without departing fromthe present concept.

By way of example, FIG. 1 depicts the two BoPoMoFo characters 56 in thetext input component 46 as having been finalized and with the lookupcomponent 48 displaying a plurality of Traditional Chinese characters 60that each constitutes a valid transliteration of the two BoPoMoFocharacters 56. FIG. 3 depicts the detection of a third BoPoMoFo inputprior to its finalization. For instance, the text input component 46 ofFIG. 3 is depicted as including three BoPoMoFo characters 56, but thelookup component 48 is unchanged from that of FIG. 1. That is, the thirdBoPoMoFo character 56 is displayed in the text input component 46, butsince it is unfinalized the lookup component 48 remains unchanged. Asmentioned above, this occurs in the exemplary embodiment depicted hereinby not subjecting an unfinalized string of BoPoMoFo inputs to thetransliteration routine 44, although in other embodiments this could beaccomplished despite processing with the transliteration routine 44 bysimply not outputting in the lookup component 48 an updated set ofTraditional Chinese characters 60 directed toward the unfinalizedBoPoMoFo input.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3, except for depicting the result of afinalization of the third BoPoMoFo character 56 due to expiration of thepredetermined period of time without detecting another BoPoMoFo input.As can be seen from FIG. 4, the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in thelookup component 48 are different than those in FIGS. 1 and 3, whichreflects the processing of all three of the BoPoMoFo characters 56 inthe text input component 46 with the transliteration routine 44.

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 3, except for depicting a reactuation of thekey 28 that resulted in the inputting of the third BoPoMoFo character 56in FIG. 3. That is, the third BoPoMoFo character 56 in FIG. 3 is thesubject of a FLIP operation since the key 28 which caused the inputtingof the third BoPoMoFo character 52 in FIG. 3 has been reactuated withinthe predetermined period of time to replace the third BoPoMoFo character52 in FIG. 3 with another third BoPoMoFo character 52 in the text inputcomponent 46 of FIG. 5. It is noted that the third BoPoMoFo character 56is depicted in the text input component 46 of FIG. 5 as having beenfinalized as a result of an expiration of the predetermined period oftime after the reactuation of the key 28 that resulted in the input. Itthus can be seen that the three BoPoMoFo characters 56 in FIG. 5 havebeen subjected to the transliteration routine 44, and the TraditionalChinese characters 60 of the lookup component 48 are each proposedtransliterations of the three BoPoMoFo characters 56 of FIG. 5, and thusare different than the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in the lookupcomponent 48 of FIG. 3.

It is reiterated that FIG. 4 depicts the third BoPoMoFo character 56 ashaving been finalized, with the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in thelookup component 48 of FIG. 4 each being a valid transliteration of thethree BoPoMoFo characters 56. However, the three BoPoMoFo characters inFIG. 4 have not yet been converted to a Traditional Chinese character,i.e., the three BoPoMoFo characters 56 remain in the text inputcomponent 46 of FIG. 4 without having been replaced with atransliteration thereof in the form of a Traditional Chinese character60 from the lookup component 48. As suggested above, this gives the useran opportunity to select a particular transliteration, i.e., aparticular Traditional Chinese character 60, from the lookup component48. If such a Traditional Chinese character 60 is affirmatively selectedby the user, the three BoPoMoFo characters 56 will be converted to theselected Traditional Chinese character 60 and will be replaced in thetext input component 46 with the selected Traditional Chinese character60.

If however, instead of affirmatively selecting one of the TraditionalChinese characters 60 in the lookup component 48 of FIG. 4, the userinstead continues to input BoPoMoFo characters, such as is indicatedgenerally in FIG. 6, the additional input of a BoPoMoFo character willbe detected as a conversion event which will cause the three BoPoMoFocharacters 56 of FIG. 4 to be automatically replaced in the text inputcomponent 46 with one of the Traditional Chinese characters 60 in thelookup component 48 of FIG. 4. Such a situation is likewise reflected inFIG. 6 wherein the text input component 46 is now depicted as includingthree Traditional Chinese characters 52 and only a single BoPoMoFocharacter 56. In the exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 6, the lookupcomponent 48 includes a number of variants 64 which, in the depictedexample, are each in the form of a variant 64 Chinese predicted wordthat comprises two Traditional Chinese characters. Each such variant 64depicts, for example, a first Traditional Chinese character 68 and asecond Traditional Chinese character 72, with the first TraditionalChinese character 68 being an alternative transliteration of thepreviously converted character 52. The second character 72 is both apredicted transliteration of the single BoPoMoFo character 56 as well asa predicted additional Traditional Chinese character to form thetwo-character predicted Chinese word.

It is noted that FIG. 6 depicts the single BoPoMoFo character 56 ashaving been finalized due to an expiration of the predetermined periodof time without detecting another BoPoMoFo input, thus resulting in theupdated lookup component 48. FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 6 exceptdepicting the single BoPoMoFo character 56 in the text input component46 as having resulted from a double actuation of one of the keys 28.That is, FIG. 7 depicts one of the keys 28 as having been actuated andthen reactuated within the predetermined period of time to result in theBoPoMoFo character 56 of FIG. 7 being a flipped character. FIG. 7similarly depicts its single BoPoMoFo character 56 as having beenfinalized due to an expiration of the predetermined period of timewithout an additional BoPoMoFo input. It can also be seen that thesingle BoPoMoFo input 56 of FIG. 7 has been processed with thetransliteration routine 44, thereby resulting in the lookup component48, which is different than the lookup component 48 of FIG. 6 whichresulted from processing of the different single BoPoMoFo character 56with the transliteration routine 44.

FIG. 8 depicts a flowchart illustrating some of the aspects of thefinalization process which causes BoPoMoFo inputs to be processed by thetransliteration routine 44. Processing begins with a detection of aninput of a BoPoMoFo character, as at 104. The detected BoPoMoFocharacter is considered to be a current character and is output, as at108. It is determined, as at 112, whether the current input resultedfrom an actuation of a key 28 that has a plurality of BoPoMoFocharacters 26 assigned thereto. If the key 28 is determined at 112 tonot have a plurality of the BoPoMoFo characters 26 assigned thereto,processing continues, as at 116, where the current character is detectedas being a finalized input, and processing thereafter continues, as at120, where the current character, i.e., a BoPoMoFo character, and anypreceding unconverted BoPoMoFo characters in the series of inputs aresubjected to the transliteration routine 44. Processing thereaftercontinues, as at 124, where the current BoPoMoFo character is output,such as in the text input component 46, or a transliteration of at leastthe current BoPoMoFo is output, such as in the lookup component 48, orboth. Processing thereafter continues, as at 104, where additionalBoPoMoFo input can be detected. This aforementioned loop of theflowchart in FIG. 8 depicts the situation wherein a BoPoMoFo input isunambiguous, and it is therefore unnecessary to await an occurrence of afinalization event.

On the other hand, if it is determined, as at 112, that the key 28 thatwas most recently actuated to provide the current character has aplurality of BoPoMoFo characters 26 assigned thereto, processingcontinues, as at 128, where it is determined whether or not thepredetermined period of time has expired since the most recent BoPoMoFoinput, i.e., whether or not it has expired without a detection ofanother BoPoMoFo input. If the predetermined period of time has expired,processing continues, as at 116 where the current character is detectedas being finalized, and processing continues therefrom as set forthabove.

On the other hand, if it is determined at 128 that the predeterminedperiod of time has not expired, processing continues as at 132 where itis determined whether another BoPoMoFo input has been detected, it beingreiterated that the processing at 132 occurs prior to the expiration ofthe predetermined period of time. If no input is detected at 132,processing loops back to 108 where the current character is continued tobe output.

However, if at 132 another BoPoMoFo input is detected, i.e., it isdetected within the predetermined period of time, processing continuesto 136 where it is determined whether the most recent input is areactuation of a key 28. If yes, processing continues at 140 where thecurrent character is subjected to a FLIP operation wherein the currentcharacter is changed to be another character of the reactuated key.Processing continues, as at 108, where the current character, i.e., theflipped character, is output. However, if it is determined at 136 thatthe most recent BoPoMoFo input is not a reactuation of a key 28, i.e.,it is an actuation of different key, a new BoPoMoFo character is outputin the text input component 46, as at 144, and the current character,i.e., the BoPoMoFo character immediately preceding the new character, isdetected at 116 as being a finalized input. Processing thereaftercontinues as set forth above.

It thus can be seen that the processing of newly input BoPoMoFocharacters that are subject to possible change within the predeterminedperiod of time is delayed until detection of a finalization event.Accordingly, the user is relieved of the distraction of having proposedtransliterations of an unfinalized BoPoMoFo input being output on thedisplay 18. This facilitates input into the mobile electronic device 4.

Additional benefits are provided by the multiple-axis input device. Forinstance, an exemplary home screen output that can be visually output onthe display 18 is depicted in FIG. 9 as including a plurality of icons1062 that are selectable by the user for the purpose of, for example,initiating the execution on the processor apparatus 16 of a routine 44that is represented by an icon 1062. The trackball 32 is rotatable toprovide, for example, navigational inputs among the icons 1062.

For example, FIG. 9 depicts the travel of an indicator 1066 from theicon 1062A, as is indicated in broken lines with the indicator 1066A, tothe icon 1062B, as is indicated in broken lines with the indicator1066B, and onward to the icon 1062C, as is indicated by the indicator1066C. It is understood that the indicators 1066A, 1066B, and 1066C arenot necessarily intended to be simultaneously depicted on the display18, but rather are intended to together depict a series of situationsand to indicate movement of the indicator 1066 among the icons 1062. Theparticular location of the indicator 1066 at any given time indicates toa user the particular icon 1062, for example, that is the subject of aselection focus of the mobile electronic device 4. Whenever an icon 1062or other selectable object is the subject of the selection focus, aselection input to the processor apparatus 16 will result in executionor initiation of the routine 44 or other function that is represented bythe icon 1062 or other selectable object.

The movement of the indicator 1066 from the icon 1062A, as indicatedwith the indicator 1066A, to the icon 1062B, as is indicated by theindicator 1066B, was accomplished by rotating the trackball 32 about thevertical axis 34B to provide a horizontal navigational input. Asmentioned above, a rotation of the trackball 32 a predeterminedrotational distance results in an input to the processor apparatus 16.In the present example, the trackball 32 would have been rotated aboutthe vertical axis 34B a rotational distance equal to three times thepredetermined rotational distance since the icon 62B is disposed threeicons 1062 to the right the icon 1062A. Such rotation of the trackball32 likely would have been made in a single motion by the user, but thisneed not necessarily be the case.

Similarly, the movement of the indicator 1066 from the icon 1062B, asindicated by the indicator 1066B, to the icon 1062C, as is indicated bythe indicator 1066C, was accomplished by the user rotating the trackball32 about the horizontal axis 34A to provide a vertical navigationalinput. In so doing, the trackball 32 would have been rotated arotational distance equal to two times the predetermined rotationaldistance since the icon 1062C is disposed two icons 1062 below the icon1062B. Such rotation of the trackball 32 likely would have been made ina single motion by the user, but this need not necessarily be the case.

It thus can be seen that the trackball 32 is rotatable in variousdirections to provide various navigational and other inputs to theprocessor apparatus 16. Rotational inputs by the trackball 32 typicallyare interpreted by whichever routine 44 is active on the mobileelectronic device 4 as inputs that can be employed by such routine 44.For example, the GUI 44 that is active on the mobile electronic device 4in FIG. 9 requires vertical and horizontal navigational inputs to movethe indicator 1066, and thus the selection focus, among the icons 1062.If a user rotated the trackball 32 about an axis oblique to thehorizontal axis 34A and the vertical axis 34B, the GUI 44 likely wouldresolve such an oblique rotation of the trackball 32 into vertical andhorizontal components which could then be interpreted by the GUI 44 asvertical and horizontal navigational movements, respectively. In such asituation, if one of the resolved vertical and horizontal navigationalmovements is of a greater magnitude than the other, the resolvednavigational movement having the greater magnitude would be employed bythe GUI 44 as a navigational input in that direction to move theindicator 1066 and the selection focus, and the other resolvednavigational movement would be ignored by the GUI 44, for example.

When the indicator 1066 is disposed on the icon 1062C, as is indicatedby the indicator 1066C, the selection focus of the mobile electronicdevice 4 is on the icon 1062C. As such, a translation of the trackball32 toward the housing 6 as described above would provide an input to theprocessor apparatus 16 that would be interpreted by the GUI 44 as aselection input with respect to the icon 1062C. In response to such aselection input, the processor apparatus 16 would, for example, begin toexecute a routine 44 that is represented by the icon 1062C. It thus canbe understood that the trackball 32 is rotatable to provide navigationaland other inputs in multiple directions, assuming that the routine 44that is currently active on the mobile electronic device 4 can employsuch navigational or other inputs in a plurality of directions, and canalso be translated to provide a selection input or other input.

As mentioned above, FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary menu 1035A that wouldbe appropriate if the user's current logical location within the logicalmenu tree was viewing an email within an email routine 44. That is, themenu 1035A provides selectable options that would be appropriate for auser given that the user is, for example, viewing an email within anemail routine 44. In a similar fashion, FIG. 11 depicts anotherexemplary menu 1035B that would be depicted if the user's currentlogical location within the logical menu tree was within a telephoneroutine 44.

Rotational movement inputs from the trackball 32 could be employed tonavigate among, for example, the menus 1035A and 1035B. For instance,after an actuation of the <MENU> key 33 and an outputting by the GUI 44of a resultant menu, the user could rotate the trackball 32 to providescrolling inputs to successively highlight the various selectableoptions within the menu. Once the desired selectable option ishighlighted, i.e., is the subject of the selection focus, the user couldtranslate the trackball 32 toward the housing 6 to provide a selectioninput as to the highlighted selectable option. In this regard, it isnoted that the <MENU> key 33 is advantageously disposed adjacent thetrackball 32. This enables, for instance, the generation of a menu by anactuation the <MENU> key 33, conveniently followed by a rotation thetrackball 32 to highlight a desired selectable option, for instance,followed by a translation of the trackball 32 toward the housing 6 toprovide a selection input to initiate the operation represented by thehighlighted selectable option.

It is further noted that one of the additional inputs that can beprovided by a translation of the trackball 32 is an input that causesthe GUI 44 to output a reduced menu. For instance, a translation of thetrackball 32 toward the housing 6 could result in the generation andoutput of a more limited version of a menu than would have beengenerated if the <MENU> key 33 had instead been actuated. Such a reducedmenu would therefore be appropriate to the user's current logicallocation within the logical menu tree and would provide those selectableoptions which the user would have a high likelihood of selecting.Rotational movements of the trackball 32 could provide scrolling inputsto scroll among the selectable options within the reduced menu 1035C,and translation movements of the trackball 32 could provide selectioninputs to initiate whatever function is represented by the selectableoption within the reduce menu 1035C that is currently highlighted.

By way of example, if instead of actuating the <MENU> key 33 to generatethe menu 1035A the user translated the trackball 32, the GUI 44 wouldgenerate and output on the display the reduced menu 1035C that isdepicted generally in FIG. 12. The exemplary reduced menu 1035C providesas selectable options a number of the selectable options from the menu1035A that the user would be most likely to select. As such, a userseeking to perform a relatively routine function could, instead ofactuating the <MENU>key 33 to display the full menu 1035A, translate thetrackball 32 to generate and output the reduced menu 1035C. The usercould then conveniently rotate the trackball 32 to provide scrollinginputs to highlight a desired selectable option, and could thentranslate the trackball 32 to provide a selection input which wouldinitiate the function represented by the selectable option in thereduced menu 1035C that is currently highlighted.

In the present exemplary embodiment, many of the menus that could begenerated as a result of an actuation of the <MENU> key 33 could insteadbe generated and output in reduced form as a reduced menu in response toa translation of the trackball 32 toward the housing 6. It is noted,however, that a reduced menu might not be available for each full menuthat could be generated from an actuation of the <MENU> key 33.Depending upon the user's specific logical location within the logicalmenu tree, a translation of the trackball 32 might be interpreted as aselection input rather than an input seeking a reduced menu. Forinstance, a translation of the trackball 32 on the home screen depictedin FIG. 1 would result in a selection input as to whichever of the icons1062 is the subject of the input focus. If the <MENU> key 33 wasactuated on the home screen, the GUI 44 would output a menu appropriateto the home screen, such as a full menu of all of the functions that areavailable on the mobile electronic device 4, including those that mightnot be represented by icons 1062 on the home screen.

FIG. 13 depicts a quantity of text that is output on the display 18,such as during a text entry operation or during a text editingoperation, for example. The indicator 1066 is depicted in FIG. 13 asbeing initially over the character “L”, as is indicated with theindicator 1066D, and having been moved horizontally to the character“I”, as is indicated by the indicator 1066E, and thereafter verticallymoved to the character “W”, as is indicated by the indicator 1066F. In afashion similar to that in FIG. 9, the cursor 1066 was moved among thecharacters “L”, “1”, and “W” through the use of horizontal and verticalnavigational inputs resulting from rotations of the trackball 32. In theexample of FIG. 13, however, each rotation of the trackball 32 thepredetermined rotational distance would move the indicator 1066 to thenext adjacent character. As such, in moving the indicator 1066 betweenthe characters “L” and “I,” the user would have rotated the trackball 32about the vertical axis 1034B a rotational distance equal to nine timesthe predetermined rotational distance, for example, since “I” isdisposed nine characters to the right of “L”.

FIG. 14 depicts an output 1064 on the display 18 during, for example, atext entry operation that employs the disambiguation routine 44. Theoutput 1064 can be said to comprise a text component 1068 and a variantcomponent 1072. The variant component 1072 comprises a default portion1076 and a variant portion 1080. FIG. 14 depicts the indicator 1066G onthe variant 1080 “HAV”, such as would result from a rotation of thetrackball 32 about the horizontal axis 34A to provide a downwardvertical scrolling input. In this regard, it is understood that arotation of the trackball 32 a distance equal to the predeterminedrotational distance would have moved the indicator 1066 from a position(not expressly depicted herein) disposed on the default portion 1076 tothe position disposed on the first variant 1080, as is depicted in FIG.14. Since such a rotation of the trackball 32 resulted in the firstvariant 1080 “HAV” being highlighted with the indicator 1066G, the textcomponent 1068 likewise includes the text “HAV” immediately preceding acursor 1084A.

FIG. 15 depict an alternative output 1064A having an alternative variantcomponent 1072A having a default portion 1076A and a variant portion1080A. The variant component 1072A is horizontally arranged, meaningthat the default portion 1076A and the variants 1080A are disposedhorizontally adjacent one another and can be sequentially selected bythe user through the use of horizontal scrolling inputs, such as by theuser rotating the trackball 32 the predetermined rotational distanceabout the vertical axis 34B. This is to be contrasted with the variantcomponent 1072 of FIG. 14 wherein the default portion 1076 and thevariants 1080 are vertically arranged, and which can be sequentiallyselected by the user through the user of vertical scrolling inputs withthe trackball 32.

In this regard, it can be understood that the trackball 32 can provideboth the vertical scrolling inputs employed in conjunction with theoutput 1064 as well as the horizontal scrolling inputs employed inconjunction with the output 1064A. For instance, the disambiguationroutine 44 potentially could allow the user to customize the operationthereof by electing between the vertically arranged variant component1072 and the horizontally arranged variant component 1072A. Thetrackball 32 can provide scrolling inputs in the vertical directionand/or the horizontal direction, as needed, and thus is operable toprovide appropriate scrolling inputs regardless of whether the userchooses the variant component 1072 or the variant component 1072A. Thatis, the trackball 32 can be rotated about the horizontal axis 34A toprovide the vertical scrolling inputs employed in conjunction with thevariant component 1072, and also can be rotated about the vertical axis34B to provide the horizontal scrolling inputs that are employed inconjunction with the variant component 1064A. The trackball 32 thuscould provide appropriate navigational, strolling, selection, and otherinputs depending upon the needs of the routine 44 active at any time onthe mobile electronic device 4. The trackball 32 enables suchnavigational, strolling, selection, and other inputs to be intuitivelygenerated by the user through rotations of the trackball 32 indirections appropriate to the active routine 44, such as might beindicated on the display 18.

It can further be seen from FIG. 15 that the variant component 1072Aadditionally includes a value 1081 that is indicative of the languageinto which the disambiguation routine 44 will interpret ambiguous textinput. In the example depicted in FIG. 15, the language is English.

As can be seen in FIG. 16, the value 1081 can be selected by the user tocause the displaying of a list 1083 of alternative values 1085. Thealternative values 1085 are indicative of selectable alternativelanguages into which the disambiguation routine 44 can interpretambiguous input. A selection of the value 1081 would have been achieved,for example, by the user providing horizontal scrolling inputs with thetrackball 32 to cause (not expressly depicted herein) the indicator 1066to be disposed over the value 1081, and by thereafter translating thetrackball 32 toward the housing 6 to provide a selection input.

The alternative values 1085 in the list 1083 are vertically arrangedwith respect to one another and with respect to the value 1081. As such,a vertical scrolling input with the trackball 32 can result in avertical movement of the indicator 10661 to a position on one of thealternative values 1085 which, in the present example, is thealternative value 1085 “FR”, which is representative of the Frenchlanguage. The alternative value 1085 “FR” could become selected by theuser in any of a variety of fashions, such as by actuating the trackball32 again, by continuing to enter text, or in other fashions. It thus canbe understood from FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 that the trackball 32 can berotated to provide horizontal scrolling inputs and, when appropriate, toadditionally provide vertical scrolling inputs and, when appropriate, toadditionally provide selection inputs, for example.

FIG. 17 depicts another exemplary output on the display 18 such as mightbe employed by a data entry routine 44. The exemplary output of FIG. 17comprises a plurality of input fields 1087 with correspondingdescriptions. A cursor 1084D, when disposed within one of the inputfields 1087, indicates to the user that an input focus of the mobileelectronic device 4 is on that input field 1087. That is, data such astext, numbers, symbols, and the like, will be entered into whicheverinput field 1087 is active, i.e., is the subject of the input focus. Itis understood that the mobile electronic device 4 might perform otheroperations or take other actions depending upon which input field 1087is the subject of the input focus.

Navigational inputs from the trackball 32 advantageously enable thecursor 1084D, and thus the input focus, to be switched, i.e., shifted,among the various input fields 1087. For example, the input fields 1087could include the input fields 1087A, 1087B, and 1087C. FIG. 17 depictsthe cursor 1084D as being disposed in the input field 1087C, indicatingthat the input field 1087C is the subject of the input focus of themobile electronic device 4. It is understood that the cursor 1084D, andthus the input focus, can be shifted from the input field 1087C to theinput field 1087A, which is disposed adjacent and vertically above theinput field 1087C, by providing a vertical scrolling input in the upwarddirection with the trackball 32. That is, the trackball 32 would berotated the predetermined rotational distance about the horizontal axis34. Similarly, the cursor 1084D, and thus the input focus, can beshifted from the input field 1087A to the input field 1087B, which isdisposed adjacent and to the right of the input field 1087A, byproviding a horizontal scrolling input to the right with the trackball32. That is, such a horizontal scrolling input could be provided byrotating the trackball the predetermined rotational distance about thevertical axis 34B. It thus can be seen that the trackball 32 isrotatable in a plurality of directions about a plurality axes to providenavigational, scrolling, and other inputs in a plurality of directionsamong a plurality of input fields 1087. Other types of inputs and/orinputs in other applications will be apparent.

An improved mobile electronic device 2004 in accordance with stillanother embodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept is depictedgenerally in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19. The mobile electronic device 2004includes a housing 2006 upon which are disposed an input apparatus 2008,an output apparatus 2012, and a processor apparatus 2016. The processorapparatus 2016 comprises a processor 2036 a memory 2040 having storedtherein a number of routines 2044. All of the operations that can beperformed on or with the mobile electronic device 4 can be performed onor with the mobile electronic device 2004. As such, the features of themobile electronic device 2004 that are common with the mobile electronicdevice 4, and this would comprise essentially all of the features of themobile electronic device 4, will generally not be repeated.

As a general matter, the mobile electronic device 2004 is substantiallyidentical in configuration and function to the mobile electronic device4, except that the mobile electronic device 2004 includes a touch screendisplay 2055 that provides a non-mechanical multiple-axis input device2032 instead of the trackball 32. The non-mechanical multiple-axis inputdevice 2032 can be said to be in the form of a virtual trackball 2032.

As is generally understood, the touch screen display 2055 includes aliquid crystal layer between a pair of substrates, with each substrateincluding an electrode. The electrodes form a grid which defines theaperture size of the pixels. When a charge is applied to the electrodes,the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer become alignedgenerally perpendicular to the two substrates. A display input/outputsubassembly 2053 of the output apparatus 2012 controls the location ofthe charge applied to the electrodes thereby enabling the formation ofimages on the touch screen display 2055.

Additionally, the touch screen display 2055 comprises a sensor assembly2057 which comprises an output device 2059 and a plurality of detectors2061. The detectors 2061 are shown schematically and are typically toosmall to be seen by the naked eye. Each detector 2061 is in electricalcommunication with the output device 2059 and creates an output signalwhen actuated. The detectors 2061 are disposed in a pattern, discussedbelow, and are structured to detect an external object immediatelyadjacent to, or touching, the touch screen display 2055. The externalobject is typically a stylus or a user's finger (not shown). The outputdevice 2059 and/or the processor 2016 are structured to receive thedetector signals and convert the signals to data representing thelocation of the external object relative to the touch screen display2055. As such, while the sensor assembly 2057 is physically a componentof the touch screen display 2055, it is nevertheless considered to be alogical component of the input apparatus 2008 since it provides input tothe processor apparatus.

The detectors 2061 are typically capacitive detectors, opticaldetectors, resistive detectors, or mechanical detectors such as straingauge or charged grid, although other technologies may be employedwithout departing from the present concept. Typically, capacitivedetectors are structured to detect a change in capacitance caused by theelectrical field of the external object or a change in capacitancecaused by the compression of the capacitive detector. Optical detectorsare structured to detect a reflection of light, e.g., light created bythe touch screen display 2055. Mechanical detectors include a chargedgrid with columns that would be disposed on one side of the touch screendisplay 2055 and a corresponding grid without columns would be disposedat another location on the touch screen display 2055. In such aconfiguration, when the touch screen display 2055 is compressed, i.e. asa result of being touched by the user, the columns at the area ofcompression contact the opposing grid thereby completing a circuit.

Capacitive detectors may be disposed upon either substrate and, althoughsmall, require space. Thus, and any pixel that is disposed adjacent adetector 2061 will have a reduced size, or aperture, to accommodate theadjacent detector 2061.

The detectors 2061 are disposed in a pattern, and at least some of thedetectors 2061 preferably are arranged in lines that form a grid. Afirst portion of the detectors 2061 are disposed on a first area 2081 ofthe touch screen display 2055, and a second portion of the detectors2061 are disposed on a second area 2083 of the touch screen display2055. As can be seen from FIG. 18, the first area 2081 essentially isevery region of the touch screen display 2005 other than the second area2083.

The first portion of the detectors 2061 disposed on the first area 2081of the touch screen display 2055 are disposed in a relatively sparsepattern in order to minimize the visual interference that is caused bythe presence of the detectors 2061 adjacent the pixels. Preferably, thespacing of the detectors 2061 on the first area 2081 is between about1.0 mm and 10.0 mm between the detectors 2061, and more preferably about3.0 mm between the detectors 2061.

The second portion of the detectors 2061 are disposed in a relativelydense pattern on the second area 2083 of the touch screen display 2055and are structured to support the function of the virtual trackball2032. The image quality in the second area 2083 of the touch screendisplay 2055 is adversely affected due to the dense spacing of thedetectors 2061 there. However, the second area 2083 is a relativelysmall area compared to the entire touch screen display 2055. Preferably,the density of the detectors 2061 in the second area 2083 is betweenabout 0.05 mm and 3.0 mm between the detectors, and more preferablyabout 0.1 mm between the detectors 2061. Further, because the pixels inthe second area 2083 are dedicated for the virtual trackball 2032, it isacceptable to have a reduced pixel density with larger pixels. Since thepixel size would be very large, the aspect ratio would be significantlyhigher than that of pixels that are not disposed adjacent a detector2061. The pixels in the second area 2083 likely would be specialfunction pixels, such as pixels that would both depict the virtualtrackball 2032 and that would light up the second area 2083 to highlightthe virtual trackball 2032.

The processor apparatus is structured to create images and define theboundaries of selectable portions of the images on the touch screendisplay 2055. For example, the processor apparatus will create theimages of selectable icons or other objects on specific portions of thetouch screen display 2055. The processor apparatus is further structuredto relate specific detectors 2061 to the specific portions of the touchscreen display 2055. Thus, when the processor apparatus detects theactuation of a specific detector 2061 adjacent to a specific image, e.g.a selectable icon, the processor apparatus will initiate the function orroutine related to that icon, e.g. opening a calendar program.

Similarly, the processor apparatus is structured to employ specificdetectors 2061 to support the function of the virtual trackball 2032 inthe second area 2083 of the touch screen display 2055. Thus, actuationsof one or more of the detectors 2061 that support the virtual trackball2032 will be interpreted by the processor apparatus as being inputs fromthe virtual trackball 2032. For instance, an actuation of a sequentialplurality of detectors 2061 extending along a particular direction onthe touch screen display 2055 in the second area 2083 might beinterpreted as a navigational input, a scrolling input, a selectioninput, and/or another input in the particular direction. Since the usercan freely move a finger, for instance, in any direction on the touchscreen display 2055, the virtual trackball 2032 is a multiple-axis inputdevice. Other inputs, such as a non-moving actuation of one or moredetectors 2061 in the central region of the virtual trackball 2032 couldbe interpreted by the processor apparatus as an actuation input of thevirtual trackball 2032, such as would be generated by an actuation ofthe trackball 32 of the mobile electronic device 1004 in a directiontoward the housing 1006 thereof. It can be understood that other typesof actuations of the detectors 2061 in the second area 2083 can beinterpreted as various other inputs without departing from the disclosedand claimed concept.

The mobile electronic device 2004 thus comprises a multiple-axis inputdevice 2032 that is non-mechanical but that still provides the samefunctional features and advantages as, say, the trackball 32 of themobile electronic device 4. It is understood that the virtual trackball2032 is but one example of the many types of multiple-axis input devicesthat could be employed on the mobile electronic device 2004.

While specific embodiments of the disclosed and claimed concept havebeen described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in theart that various modifications and alternatives to those details couldbe developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure.Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to beillustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the disclosed andclaimed concept which is to be given the full breadth of the claimsappended and any and all equivalents thereof.

1-12. (canceled)
 13. A method comprising: detecting one or morecharacter inputs in a first character alphabet as a preceding characterstring, the preceding character string corresponding to one or morevalid characters in a second alphabet according to a transliterationoperation; detecting a current character input in the first characteralphabet following input of the preceding character string; determining,via a processor, whether the current character input is an ambiguousinput; and selectively suspending processing of the current characterinput by the transliteration operation.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the current character input is an ambiguous input when an inputkey used to input the current character input is associated with aplurality of characters in the first alphabet.
 15. The method of claim13, further comprising: continuing processing of the current characterinput upon occurrence of a finalization event, wherein the finalizationevent includes at least one of a detection of another input by adifferent input key within a predetermined period of time after thecurrent input, and an expiration of the predetermined period of timeafter the current input without detecting another input.
 16. The methodof claim 13, further comprising: displaying the one or more validcharacters as proposed transliterations in a lookup portion prior todetecting the current character input.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein a proposed transliteration involving the current character inputis not displayed in the lookup portion until a finalization event isreceived.
 18. An electronic device comprising: a memory storinginstructions; and a processor executing the instructions to: detect oneor more character inputs in a first character alphabet as a precedingcharacter string, the preceding character string corresponding to one ormore valid characters in a second alphabet according to atransliteration operation; detect a current character input in the firstcharacter alphabet following input of the preceding character string;determin whether the current character input is an ambiguous input; andselectively suspend processing of the current character input by thetransliteration operation.
 19. The electronic device of claim 18,wherein the current character input is an ambiguous input when an inputkey used to input the current character input is associated with aplurality of characters in the first alphabet.
 20. The electronic deviceof claim 18, the processor executing instructions to continue processingof the current character input upon occurrence of a finalization event,wherein the finalization event includes at least one of a detection ofanother input by a different input key within a predetermined period oftime after the current input, and an expiration of the predeterminedperiod of time after the current input without detecting another input.21. The electronic device of claim 18, the processor executinginstructions to display the one or more valid characters as proposedtransliterations in a lookup portion prior to detecting the currentcharacter input.
 22. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein aproposed transliteration involving the current character input is notdisplayed in the lookup portion until a finalization event is received.23. A tangibly embodied non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device,cause the device to perform a method comprising: detecting one or morecharacter inputs in a first character alphabet as a preceding characterstring, the preceding character string corresponding to one or morevalid characters in a second alphabet according to a transliterationoperation; detecting a current character input in the first characteralphabet following input of the preceding character string; determiningwhether the current character input is an ambiguous input; andselectively suspending processing of the current character input by thetransliteration operation.
 24. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 23, wherein the current character input is an ambiguous input whenan input key used to input the current character input is associatedwith a plurality of characters in the first alphabet.
 25. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 23, further comprising:continuing processing of the current character input upon occurrence ofa finalization event, wherein the finalization event includes at leastone of a detection of another input by a different input key within apredetermined period of time after the current input, and an expirationof the predetermined period of time after the current input withoutdetecting another input.
 26. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 23, the method further comprising: displaying the one or morevalid characters as proposed transliterations in a lookup portion priorto detecting the current character input.
 27. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 26, wherein a proposed transliteration involvingthe current character input is not displayed in the lookup portion untila finalization event is received.